TravelTalkOnline

I have been reading the Trip Advisor and TTOL for a long time. I mainly read the Anguilla Forum pages because that is where my wife and I always wanted to be – year in and year out. But we’ve all got to face the facts. The Anguilla that we have all loved for so many years is gone forever, there will be no resurrection.
Either we learn to accept all of these changes or we move on to another place. My wife and I just couldn’t accept them, so we began a search for paradise lost. After a lot of asking and a lot of searching, out of the muck came paradise, spelled A-N-E-G-A-D-A. The comments on the TTOL British Virgin Islands pages and the TA Anegada Forum pages were irresistible. I began reading the Anegada Forum postings and replies; going back as far as possible. You see, after 19 years and a belly full of “Anguilla now…”, we were determined to locate another gem of an island, just like “Anguilla then…”
And so we planned and booked our two week vacation on Anegada for April 16th through April 30th. The vacation is over and it’s time to keep my promises to several Forum readers that have expressed a keen interest in reading about our experiences. I hope that these experiences will serve as an objective guide to Anegada, and also offer any interested travelers a realistic view of both the pros and also the cons.
GETTING THERE
It aint easy, no matter where you live. The biggest travel problem is caused by the Smith’s Ferry schedule to Anegada from Road Town in Tortola. The ferry only operates 3 days per week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) and twice on each of these days - at 7:00 AM and 3:30 PM.
In order for us to get to Anegada without sleeping over in Tortola, we left JFK Airport in NYC at 6:50 AM and were not able to arrive at the dock in Anegada until 4:45 PM. This schedule included hours of layovers in San Juan and Tortola. The journey to Anegada required 10 hours. The return trip began with the 8: 30 AM ferry leaving Anegada and our arrival at JFK in NYC at 8:35 PM. The return trip required 12 hours. These times do not include the hours required to get to the airport in NYC or the 1 hour lead time that should be allowed to get to the Anegada ferry dock for the departure home. Was it worth 22 hours+ of travel time? You be the judge.
WATER AND BEACHES
In a word “stunning”. But, only when the wind is not blowing too hard. The turquoise color of the waters on both the Caribbean Sea (south side) and Atlantic Ocean (north side) of Anegada are spectacular – IMO better than any water that I’ve ever seen on Provo in the Turks and Caicos or Anguilla. “Cow Wreck Beach” is prettier than “Shoal Bay East Beach” in Anguilla; although the sand at Shoal Bay East Beach might be a shade whiter in color and is definitely finer in texture. I think that being able to walk for up to 10 miles without obstructions, without seeing another living soul and maybe a dozen cottages near the beach are the reasons that Cow Wreck Beach is so enchanting and can be favorably compared to the venerable Shoal Bay East Beach. The Atlantic side of Anegada has surf that builds up quickly when the wind starts to blow. Then, the water gets “murky” – thereby eliminating snorkeling . The Caribbean Sea side of Anegada is normally calm and like “a sheet of glass”, with the same magnificent turquoise color water, but this side of Anegada has never been touted for snorkeling and it has a strong undertow.
SNORKELING
For a desolate island in the middle of nowhere with only 240 inhabitants, surrounded by the 3rd largest (Horseshoe Reef) barrier reef in the world, you’d think that the snorkeling would be out of this world. WRONG. The snorkeling stinks. Why? Because the coral heads are primarily “dead”. If the coral is dead – beautiful tropical fish will not inhabit it. Get the picture. We chartered a boat to take us snorkeling at the eastern tip of Anegada – supposedly where the “locals” snorkel. Ho hum, there were some live coral heads and we did see some smaller species of beautiful tropical fish, and there were 1 or 2 sea turtles on the reef and a black-tip reef shark – so what? Trust me, we wanted to be impressed and we were not. Try getting in and out of a small boat that does not have a “ladder’. My wife still has the bruises on her arms from being hoisted back into the stern of the boat, next to the well for the 250 hp Yamaha outboard engine. It wasn’t pretty. Why, pray tell, didn’t anyone on TTOL or the TA Anegada Forum tell us that the snorkeling was so mediocre? I don’t understand. Perhaps the reason is that the reef structure has been totally compromised by “global warming” during the past few years – at least that’s the reason expressed by a very disappointed group of snorkelers that we met on Jack Bay. They said that they had snorkeled off the beach on Jack Bay in 2005 and they all raved about the abundance of live coral and marine life back then. They were all dumbfounded by their experiences on April 28, 2008.
Jack Bay is east of Loblolly Bay and Flash of Beauty, and, it is supposed to be the very best place to snorkel right off the beach. Not anymore.
GETTING AROUND
If you’re not going to do the “daytrip” thing, taxis are going to be expensive and a rental car is a good idea. Speaking of car rentals, I specifically requested that the staff at Cow Wreck Resort arrange a soft-top, 2 door Suzuki jeep for us from Dean Wheatley of “D.W. Jeep Rentals” and they specifically agreed to do so via e-mail and a telephone conversation on April 9th. When we arrived, there was no D.W, Jeep rental vehicle waiting for us, Instead, there was a 4 door hardtop Vitara jeep that was owned and rented by Cow Wreck Resort. We were never shown a contract. We were never told that the cost of the Cow Wreck jeep would be $455 per week instead of the $355 weekly rate that was advertised to us by D. W. Jeep Rentals, and, we were never told that there would be a $1,500 deductible on the insurance coverage. But what really got me –issed off was the small print on their contract (which was finally presented to me the day before we left Anegada as I was settling my bill with them), informing me that anyone driving the vehicle over the age of 65 would immediately nullify all of the insurance coverage. Although I’m not over 65 years of age, no one asked to see my driver’s license to ascertain my age or even to confirm that I was licensed to drive in the US. All they were interested in was the money that they would collect for the rental. Furthermore, I had to haggle for the correct two week discounted rental rate and that also got me ticked off because it should have been totally unnecessary. They refused to honor D.W.’s $355 rate and insisted on charging me $400 per week. Not a big deal, only $90 more, but it was definitely an indication of things to come. A word to the wise, don’t trust anyone’s promise to make arrangements for you. Invest in the international telephone call and contact Dean or Henny Wheatley at D.W. Jeep Rentals via phone or fax (1.284.495.9677) to make your own arrangements.
COST OF GROCERIES and SOUVENIRS
Use http://bobbysmarketplace,com and pre-order (using a downloaded internet order form that is 18 pages in length) any food or beverages that you will be consuming, if you’re going to be staying on Anegada for more than a few days. Bobby’s Marketplace sends their truck (at no extra charge) to meet you at the Tortola ferry dock, ½ hour before you depart for Anegada, to deliver your grocery order. You pay for your groceries at the time of delivery – after you check to see that everything you ordered has been delivered. We ran out of fresh, skim milk a couple of days before we were to depart for home. We paid $2.55 for less than a “pint” (500 ml) of packaged, processed milk at “Faulkner’s Grocery Store” in The Settlement area of Anegada. That’s the equivalent of more than $20 per gallon for milk that is not even “fresh”. Faulkner’s is tiny, and it does not have a selection of merchandise. Forget about fresh meat or any variety of fresh produce on Anegada – it’s not available at any price. Due to the cost of shipping things from Tortola to Anegada, anything that you purchase in Faulkner’s store or the only other small grocery store on Anegada (“Lil Bit Taz” - also owned by the Crique Family – the owners of Cow Wreck Resort) is going to cost you an arm and a leg and another arm.
An “Anegada” baseball cap or tee-shirt will cost you a minimum of $26 at the Anegada Reef Hotel (ARH) Gift Shop or Sue’s Purple Turtle. Instead, I recommend personalized pottery from “Vera” at “VNJ’S Gift Shop”, (1.284.495.9734 or 1.284.494.1522) located just around the corner from the ARH Hotel. Vera makes and sells beautiful pieces of pottery. If she’s given enough time, she will also personalize beer steins, coffee or tea mugs and other adorable items that can be given as gifts or cherished as mementoes. VNJ’s prices are very reasonable, your purchases will be bubble-wrapped (ready for travel) or Vera will make all necessary overseas shipping arrangements for you.
INTERNET ACCESS and CELL PHONE SERVICE
“Sue’s Purple Turtle” will let you hook up to the Internet for 15 minutes for $7.00 – ridiculous. Instead, you can use the wi-fi facilities at “Neptune’s Treasure” for as long as you are staying on Anegada – for a flat rate of $20, or you can plug in at the ARH for a nominal charge.
We used our Verizon Wireless cell phone. We activated their special “roaming” feature before we left home and subscribed to a $1.29 per minute service plan for calls from anywhere in the US to and from Anegada. This rate is an exceptional value for cell phone service and the reception was fantastic. Otherwise, use your computer notebook and SKYPE long distance service.
PLACES TO STAY
There are not that many choices. I would not recommend being isolated on Anegada the first time that you go there due to the frequent black outs. If you’re familiar with Anegada, the best value is the all-inclusive plan including a rental jeep from “Keel Point Cottages”. Please be advised that these cottages are located at a remote part of the island. However, they are right on a “nice” (not fabulous) beach and were built in 2008. And when you see them and learn that you can get a one bedroom air-conditioned cottage with a free jeep, satellite TV/DVD and 7 day maid service for $1638 per week including all taxes and all service charges (April 16 – December 14), you just may say “what the hell”, I’ll take remote”. Contact Lucia Francis (Owner) at 1.284.495.8019 or 1.284.495.8048 or 1.284.441.0296 or e-mail her at: keelpointcottages@yahoo.com
We stayed at Cow Wreck Beach Resort in Walker Mangum’s Hidden Treasure Cottage. It was completed in Dec. 2007 and It has an air-conditioned bedroom, The cottage is rented @ $2,060 per week including tax. If you want maid service add $175 per week, but that doesn’t include cleaning up the “cow patties” all around the cottage. Laundry service is available at an extra charge. The cottage is 100 feet from the most incredible beach on Anegada with fabulous shallow water. There is a beachside bar.
Aside from Walker’s Cottage there are two others that are definitely in need of upgrading and they do not have air-conditioning.
The owners of Cow Wreck (Wendell and Bell Creque) describe their facility as being a resort. It’s not. They define their cottages as being villas. They’re not. They are modest cottages. I will be filing a separate, detailed review of Cow Wreck Beach Resort on TripAdvisor. It will not be pretty.
“Lavenda Breeze is the nicest house and the only one that could be construed as a villa on the entire island. It is directly on Loblolly Beach and includes all of the modern amenities, maid service and wi-fi internet access. It rents for $3,745.00 per week including tax. It includes 3 bedrooms and is the most luxuriously appointed house on Anegada. Go onto their very professional website for more information. http://www,lavendabreeze.com
The Anegada Reef Hotel has rooms that look like 1950’s roadside motel rooms from the outside. I did not need to see the inside.
Neptune’s Treasure also has rooms and 2 small apartments for rent. They looked decent but dark and nothing to write home about.
Bonefish Villa is also near The Settlement. It definitely looks like an older house to me from the outside, not a villa. Again, I didn’t bother to go inside.
There are a couple of other places in The Settlement with rooms for rent but if you’re going to make the arduous journey to Anegada and if funds are limited, go to Neptune’s Treasure and rent a room for $75 per day (off-season) including tax.
WHERE TO EAT
For those Forum readers who are familiar with my postings and responses on the Anguilla Forum, you are also acquainted with my zeal for good food and wine. I confess, I actually e-mailed Randy at “Neptune’s Treasure” Restaurant before we left for Anegada and asked him to fax me a copy of their menu. He did and I was initially hopeful and somewhat impressed with their assortment of interesting looking entrees that included a steamed and broiled, freshly-caught, 2 pound or larger, “Anegada Lobster” with 2 side dishes at a cost of $50. Neptune’s Treasure is the only restaurant on Anegada that steams and then broils their lobster. All of the other restaurants BBQ them and that will guarantee that the lobster will be dry, overcooked and rubbery.
Let me say that I thought that Neptune’s Treasure would at least have a “special of the day” entrée or appetizer in addition to the “Conch Fritters” and “Pepper Shrimp” appetizers and approximately 12 entrees on the menu. They didn’t, and after eating there a few times, I was very bored. I must also add that Anegada Lobster is the best tasting and sweetest Caribbean langoustine that I have ever eaten – anywhere in the Caribbean. We also ate our breakfasts at Neptune’s Treasure when I did not make breakfast for us in our cottage. The serving staff and owners of Neptune’s Treasure were extremely hospitable. Since we brought several bottles of wine with us (having been forewarned that the selection of wines on Anegada was not thrilling), George, the bartender at Neptune’s Treasure cordially uncorked our bottles of wine, and the waitress brought them to our table where wine glasses were provided – all at no charge. That was an unexpected surprise, and needless to say, our favorite waitress received a very generous extra gratuity for these complimentary services. We reserved the same waterside table for every breakfast and every candlelit dinner (christening it “table #4”), and, enjoyed great service from “Shona” (our favorite waitress from Guyana). The view from this table at breakfast immediately reminded us of the view from our favorite breakfast table at Cuisinart and Shona reminded us of “Lauren” our favorite Cuisinart breakfast server…. IMO the view at Neptune’s Treasure is comparable to the view at the Cuisinart breakfast pavilion, although Neptune’s is very modestly furnished. Underscore the word modestly. Oops, I almost forgot, Neptune’s serves a decent bacon cheeseburger for $6.00 and you’ll pay $14.00 at Cow Wreck for a burger that doesn’t taste as good.
I’ll include a review of the food served at Cow Wreck in my review of the “Resort”.
The reason that we did not dine at either of the other two recommended restaurants (“The Anegada Reef Hotel” or “Potter’s By The Sea”) is because when we had breakfast at the ARH, the waitress was extremely rude and the sailors who were already drinking at the bar at 9:30 AM were extremely loud. At “Potter’s By The Sea” we went to make reservations for dinner at 1:00 PM. The hostess was so bored with our questions and so involved in her personal cell phone conversation while we were attempting to give her our dinner selections, that we just walked out of the place and never went back.
A word about dinner reservations. Either you make them at any of the restaurants not later than 4:00 PM and you also inform the reservations person what you’re going to be eating at 7:00 to 7:30 PM (there is only one seating for dinner at any of the restaurants on Anegada) or, you don’t eat. Personally, I think that this policy is primitive and unacceptable but (in case you haven’t noticed yet), we don’t have any intention of ever setting foot on Anegada again, so I couldn’t give a hoot about their reservations policies now that we’ve returned to civilization. Forgive me for being extremely critical, and more than a little bit sarcastic, but no one ever mentioned any of this “reservations” nonsense in any of the many, many postings that I scoured on TTOL and Trip Advisor. Consequently, since I have a hard time thinking about dinner before sunset, I was turned off by these weird Anegadan restaurant rules.
The “Big Bamboo” at Loblolly Beach is an overpriced, open-air restaurant serving so, so food on long plasticized picnic tables, but they do have an ice cream parlor, and they only charge $3.00 for a 2 scoop cup of “St. Thomas Dairies” ice cream; good but IMO not as good as the very famous “Island Dairies” creamery – also located in St. Thomas. We took the ice cream for a stroll on Loblolly Beach, and it was a very nice way to spend 30 minutes on a sunny day.
There is also the same type of eating place at “Flash of Beauty” beach without the ice cream parlor. If you listened to the hype and went snorkeling at Loblolly Beach, and you were hungry, then you’d probably have chosen to eat at one of these two places or not eat at all. Unless of course you were a foodie like me and called “Dotsy” of “Dotsy’s Bakery” or “Sherriann” the owner of “Cafy’s Restaurant” – both located within steps of each other in The Settlement area. You could have ordered BBQ ribs, conch fritters, fried chicken, fried rice, sweet plaintains or lobster salad. Both of these places sell freshly baked breads, pastries, cookies and Dotsys also has a selection of frozen fruit pies. I’m not saying that either of these places can compare to “Jassy’s” cooking at “Fat Cat Gourmet in The Valley on Anguilla, but if you’re hungry at Loblolly Beach in Anegada, then Dotsy’s or Cafy’s is better than Big Bamboo or Flash of Beauty.
A final word about any urge to compare Anguilla restaurants and cuisine to any restaurant on Anegada (serving better lobster or not), LET’S NOT.
SAFETY and SMILES
There is no such thing as a personal safe or lock box on Anegada. They don’t exist and probably are not necessary. We carried “cash” with us because Cow Wreck “Resort” (that’s their descriptive word, not mine) insisted upon charging an extra 6% fee if a Visa or Mastercard was used to pay for the cottage. Our “cash” was another Hidden Treasure in the Hidden Treasure cottage. There were no locks on any of the doors. We didn’t need them. Anegada is still a very safe place with no crime whatsoever, just like, aha, now I remember, “Anguilla then…”.
As for “smiles”, we found the Anegadan people to be as friendly as the Anguillan people ever were, at any time.
However, the owner of a “Resort” should certainly be “civil” to her guests, and the infamous Bell Creque could use a crash course at a charm school in a hurry.
COWERING COWS
My wife and I are animal lovers. We formed the “Animal People Foundation, Inc.” (an IRS recognized 501c3 non-profit foundation) many years ago and have dedicated ourselves to financially assisting people who are directly involved in the rescue and rehabilitation of abused and abandoned animals. We support, donate money to, and supply other requested items to AARF (The Anguilla Animal Rescue Foundation). There are many untethered cows and burros on Anegada that roam freely and forage for grass all over the island. We found them to be adorable, although the huge mounds of “poop” that they generously distributed all over the sand, all around the perimeter of our beachfront cottage, did require some “getting used to” by our feet and noses. I didn’t think that my wife and I would be doing a “two step” on Anegada but the livestock demanded this kind of agility. Many of the older cows were just skin and bones… scary. They purportedly do not belong to anyone on the island, are not slaughtered for their meat, and manage to multiply because they are not spayed or neutered. There isn’t a single veterinarian or trained vet tech living on the entire island. Many of the Anegadans detest the cows and burros, and will chase them away on sight. Anegada is a very arid island and the rainfall is insufficient to provide enough water for these roaming, undomesticated animals. There are water spigots and foot baths in front of each of the three cottages at Cow Wreck Resort, and, the cows and burros are drawn to these spigots by the sound and sight of running water when they are in use by the cleaning staff or guests. They will moo and bleat incessantly, begging for water. We innocently began to water 7 of these cows and 3 burros every night when they arrived at our door just before sunset, and, continued to do so, never thinking that we were doing anything wrong. For God’s sake, one of the older burros had accidentally stepped into a tin can and the edges of the can were cutting into its leg, just above his rear hoof. Since there is no veterinarian on Anegada to attend to the infection, I’m sure that this adorable wild burro is doomed. On the evening of April 27th, Bell Creque (the owner of Cow Wreck Resort) finally noticed our activities and she stormed over to our cottage and loudly chased all of the cows and burros away. She then grabbed hold of our 5 gallon makeshift water bucket, emptied all of the remaining water in it onto the grass, and strongly admonished us to not use HER WATER for these animals.
Okay… the next night we began using our own bottled water that we had purchased at Bobbys Marketplace in Tortola. At this point we only had two nights remaining on Anegada. She didn’t see us using our water on the night of the 28th but she did see us watering the animals on April 29th. When she started coming towards us, I advised her that we had bought the water and she was not to touch it or yell at the livestock that didn’t belong to her. I guess I really –issed her off.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DON’T “COWTOW”?
We went to sleep early that night because we were going home the next morning. The alarm clock rang at 6:00 AM on April 30th so that we would have adequate time to finish packing, shower, eat breakfast, be driven to the ferry and leave Anegada. There was no water in the toilet bowl, no water in the shower or the kitchen sink. I went outside to each of the other two vacant cottages and they were also as dry as a bone. We dabbed some water on our hands and faces, and, gingerly brushed our teeth, using the last of our water. There would be no showers for us on that morning. I immediately realized what had happened but my wife said “I was paranoid”. When Bell’s daughter Lauren arrived at 7:15 AM to drive us to the ferry, I asked her if there had been any recent problems with the water? I then told her that there was no water in any of the cottages or at the beachside bar. Lauren looked at me in a very strange way. She went into her mother’s house and did not return to us for about 10 minutes. Guess what? When I went back into our cottage and turned the faucet on in the kitchen sink, water miraculously appeared. I was right. The water pump had been turned off in order to punish us for watering the animals the night before. What a cow-ardly thing to do!
DO YOU GADA???
Anegada is probably an idyllic destination for any sailors intending to spend a few days and nights there soaking up the sun, swimming in the gorgeous water, walking along the miles of pristine beaches, hoisting a bunch of “Pain Killers” at any one of the ubiquitous beach bars, and, sampling the delicious Anegadan lobster at “Neptune’s Treasure” Restaurant.
Please do not take my word for anything that I have included in this very lengthy Trip Report. I’m only suggesting that before you believe the hype included in the British Virgin Island Tourist Guides for Anegada or any of the overzealous gushing of some of the posters on TTOL or the Anegada Forum pages; pause, take several deep breaths and remember what Zabar and his wife experienced. Then, just retain a “smidge” of doubt in your mind before you start hauling yourselves to “The Drowned Island”.
As for us, we’ve now been there and done that. What’s next? Probably hearing the racket made by the huge construction trucks as they barrel along the main road of Anguilla in an unending convoy that is determined to populate the best beaches on Anguilla with just one more 20 million dollar “Devil-la”. Zabar